Internal skills gaps are one of the many issues that organizations encounter, regardless of industry. Additionally, they are crucial to the success of businesses as well. Therefore, providing the right training programs to broaden the employee’s knowledge base has become a critical part of every organization. Most employees don’t have the necessary job-specific skills to perform to the most of their abilities, and they don’t have enough learning opportunities to go past these performance constraints. To enable employees and close the skill, performance, and productivity gap, a learning transformation is necessary.

However, the quick adoption of digitization has rendered traditional employee training techniques obsolete. Employee training and development programmes must be engaging and worthwhile in light of learner’s decreasing attention spans. Also, people retain only a certain amount of information when they learn a large volume of information. This is where microlearning comes in. Microlearning has been gaining popularity, it is a dynamic, flexible learning strategy that can be used in multiple ways to ensure employee engagement, improve knowledge retention and boost productivity. Splitting the information into smaller chunks and recalling different parts of it over different times can help improve knowledge retention and productivity. Through microlearning, employees can broaden their knowledge while maintaining their effectiveness and dedication to their daily tasks.

 

Types of Microlearning 

 

• • Videos

Videos can be created in different formats as it is the most effective and engaging medium. With the reduced attention span, it’s clear that microlearning videos are needed more than ever. Also, splitting the information into smaller chunks is proving to be more suitable for today’s learners. Microlearning videos are valuable because they elicit a stronger emotional response compared to other formats of learning. It ensures that learners stick around throughout the video (because of the short duration) and increases knowledge retention. Short learning nuggets make it possible for learners to complete the course quickly and apply it instantly. Thus, it makes microlearning videos so effective. Microlearning videos can be standalone, targeted for a specific learning objective or a part of a longer learning course.

 

• • Gamification

Employee engagement is essential for any training programme. One of the most effective digital learning techniques to increase employee engagement is the combination of microlearning and gamification. It can be used to create different kinds of training such as compliance, sales, customer service and more. Gamified microlearning courses are short and allow the learners to quickly grasp the content. It focuses on a single learning objective at a time and motivates employees to be competitive and productive while also fostering their curiosity to aid in learning goals. Game elements like points, score, levels, badges, achievements, rewards, leaderboard and penalties, gives the learners the feeling of achievement and satisfaction after completing a goal in the module. The gamified microlearning learning approach enhances the learning experience and increases the motivation and participation of learners without being distracted.

 

• • Podcasts

L&D professionals are always looking out for innovative ways to train employees but they should also consider how learners want to learn and engage in the learning journey. Podcasts can be an effective tool in microlearning to create a series of digital audio or video files that a user can download and listen to on demand. As opposed to reading information from a document or PDF, listening to podcasts makes the learning material more intimate and personal. Since listening is a passive activity and needs less concentration than reading or watching multimedia files, podcasting is the ideal approach to fit employee training into their hectic schedules. Podcasts can be utilised as supplementary information sources or for on-demand performance assistance. It is one of the simplest and most efficient methods for training them on new things and keeping them engaged throughout the learning process.

 

• • Infographics 

Infographics in microlearning can be very interesting as it is a captivating method to convey dry data, in a clear organized way, thus helping the learners understand the content quickly. An interactive infographic condenses the long training content into the most important takeaways making it easier to provide more information which enables the employees to learn more. This category of microlearning can be used by organizations as a performance support tool. Infographics can be used as a refresher to glance at whenever it’s needed. For example, employees might not remember all the safety protocols at the workplace but if it is presented in a handy infographic format, employees can review the information as needed.

 

• • Simulations

A microlearning training approach can swiftly make the learners understand key concepts and move on to the next item of information. It personalises the training material and makes it simple to understand, making the learning process flexible for learners. The usage of simulation-based microlearning has also increased to improve employee training. In order to prepare for any on-the-job activities, learners can explore and practise using simulations in a setting that closely matches the real world. When combined with the effectiveness of simulation in microlearning, it gives the learners the opportunity to enter a real-world setting and gain first-hand experience. The use of simulation in training promotes decision-making and confidence in employees in addition to boosting learning.

 

Conclusion

The bite-sized learning module is one of the fastest-growing trends in today’s workforce. It is a strategy that engages learners effectively and facilitate better knowledge retention. Thus, it positively impacts the overall performance of an employee and the productivity of the organization.

Interested to learn more? Connect with us to see how you can incorporate microlearning into your courses.